Human beings are called to feel, to reason things out, and to practice compassion. Because without those higher inclinations, our own weakness, desire, fear, and the ways of the mob, trample all human potential. The shadow side of human nature is strongest when we make war. As I’ve said many times, to go to war […]

Let us go resolutely into the days ahead, mindful that the sun turns on its wheel and life returns even to the most blasted land; that neither victory nor defeat is ever as absolute as it seems in the moment; and that the work which lies before us has ever lain before us, and will […]

Camping at Idaho’s Craters of the Moon National Monument, can be a real source of religious insight. Looking down from a weather satellite, those black lava fields stand out like a sore thumb. The eruptions began through a 75-mile crack in the earth’s crust more than 10,000 years ago. The lava only stopped pouring forth […]

Our Religion lies not in what we believe, but in where we find wonder and goodness. We are, most of all, a community that gathers to reach toward that which can never quite be grasped. Though each of us may be slightly different from the other, still we are connected, by common DNA, common heritage, […]

Last week marked Indigenous Peoples Day. A year ago last week I attended the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Salt Lake City, Utah. For me, these two things will always be connected. The Parliament of the World’s Religions marked a homecoming for me. I grew up in Salt Lake City and still have family […]

About Dennis McCarty

Rev. Dennis McCarty is dedicated to the beauty and subtlety of the English language--and a non-theistic life of faith. He has written well-reviewed novels and nonfiction books; plays; essays; magazine articles--and is a dedicated lyricist and songwriter. This site explores life, love, ethics, and meaning. Religion is so much larger than just what you do or don't believe. Read More…